Run
by Phoenix Neptune Stark
Summary: Phoenix Stark is a twelve year old girl who claims to be Tony and Pepper's daughter, she is. But where did she come from? (I'm really bad at summaries so please give it a shot! Review, Fav and Follow!)
1. Prologue

**AN: This is it! My first ever fanfic on here! I hope you guys enjoy this story due to my addiction to Iron Man and since I didn't want it to be only Tony and Pepper, I wanted to add the Avengers, so here you go! Kudos to anyone who reviews, follows and favs. Thanks!**

Prologue

My name is Phoenix, I am twelve years old and I was raised in Afghanistan.

My foster father was a cruel man. He took me in, and I believed I was his child. My foster mother was a nice woman. She read me bedtime stories every night; she even cooked my meals with loving care. My foster father was never like that at all.

My foster father owned a business of raiding cargo jets and terrorism. He owned a large group of people who were dying to get their hands on guns and military grenades. Luckily, the raids ended when a sweaty, battered and dirty man came into play. His name was Tony Stark.

My family was poor and my foster father sold all the furniture in the house except a few in his room. Only my father was allowed to sit in this bed, and my mom and I slept on the floor with one sleeping bag, we had to share it while my dad had his own bed. The sleeping bag had many holes torn in it. It wasn't so bad, soon enough, I got used to working for my dad and doing all the chores. It was better than being dead. But here is where it gets awkward for people.

I never went to school, it was too far and people finding out my dad was a terrorist will terrify them. The solution was I was home schooled by my foster mother. She was the one who taught me math, writing and reading and some basic science.

One day, a dirty and battered man was brought into a cave, drowned in a bucket of water and hooked up to a car battery for safekeeping.

He was the only person who ever escaped from my fathers wrath.

I watched Stark through the little slit through the metal door. He was building a mini arc reactor for the electro magnet to keep the shrapnel away from his heart. My foster father has never told me why Stark was brought here, but I had a slight idea.

Stark was locked in a cave, hot and sweaty and was required to build a Jericho missile. Even an eight year old could tell that he's been abused and beaten up a lot. I jumped down some rocks and snuck into the cave without my foster father knowing. That's when curiosity has gotten the best of me.

"Hi there!" I stood in front of him. "What are you making?"

I would never forget Stark turning around to see me, asking for help.

I was eight at the time, so how much could I do? Besides, my foster father would kill me if I help him! So I turned around, spraying my hair behind and fled back to my room.

The day after that, Stark escaped wearing a flying hunk of metal. It didn't fly long and it crashed, but I knew it was enough. Stark has survived my foster father's wrath.

However, things didn't go so well after that.

My foster mom decided to pick a fight with my foster father. All I could remember was the fight was about Stark. Obviously my foster mother knew but did nothing about and didn't want to be involved. So when my foster mother was asked to lure Stark in, she refused the offer.

I was in my room reading the newspaper article about Stark's escape when this happened. There was a blood curling, ear-piercing scream that was followed by slapping noises.

My foster father held the knife stained with blood, my mom was down on the floor. I didn't dare to cry, to expose my weakness to him. Otherwise, death would be the only path to take.

When my foster mother was dying, she had told me the truth. She had told me the truth to everything. How I was not her daughter, and who my mother and father really was. The moment she spoke out my real name was the first time I cried in years. There was one thing she did tell me that I didn't know until now. I was determined to run away but I never told my foster father.

The policemen in Afghanistan never cared for me, I clearly was foreign to them and Afghanistan didn't like foreign people, well at least not at that time. If I forced them to help me, I would get shoved up into military training for children of under age twelve.

It was three years of wait so I could escape, but it was worth it, because I'll always remember the magic of friendship as well.

My father was too lazy and busy to walk over to the market from where we get food. I always had to go alone. Each side had people kneeling and placing items on their picnic mats, hoping someone would buy their valuables.

One night, a girl named Raven showed up at the market. She was about the same age as I was. Her hair was natural hot red and her eyes were sharp emerald green. She wore a really cute cherry shaped hair tie in her ponytail. Raven was also extremely social, talking to people around the market and helping elders. Every day she would wear the same leopard skirt and black sleek top. She was luxurious, and beautiful in every aspect you could think of.

I was holding my cloth bag, my hair was tangled and my shirt and pants were torn. I didn't bother about my appearance because my foster father had never given me any money to spend clothes on.

That was when I met my first friend ever in twelve years. Raven Romanova was the first girl I ever talked to. I began to learn how wonderful her life was. Raven was the richest person in Afghanistan that I have ever seen. All she ever talked about was video games and song artists. Things only a rich or decent person would put in their mind to care about. My heart was truly cold with envy but I never dared to say it. It was rude and I wouldn't want to lose the privilege of having a friend.

After a week of meeting her, she told me all about her life and after sharing my troubles with her, I realized that I could mean more than just a small girl living in a pool of lies. I escaped, I quickly wrote down where I was going on a small piece of cardboard and handed it to Raven. I left her without questions and headed back home to prepare my journey to The Avengers Tower.

I ran back home and packed my backpack, filling it with the only objects I had. In fact, they were not what I wanted to bring but they were what I needed.

The only object I had to remember my foster mother by was this ruby necklace. I never wore it because it has been scratched a couple of times beyond repair.

.oOo.

I had only stole enough money from my dad for a car ride to the airport. It took a whole week to plan this but it was better than nothing. I sneaked into the plane carrier and sat in there for as many hours as I could count. Some of the bags stank and cockroaches ran around the hard carpet floor. After a while, the door slowly opened and I sneaked out without anyone noticing.

The gust of wind caught my hair and blocked my face from seeing. I heard a car coming by and by the time I flipped my bangs backwards, a policeman pointed his gun at my forehead.

"Hands up." He wore his official blue policeman uniform and his cap had been blown away.

I didn't need to think about what to do next.

I ran towards the gate and I barged through. The security guards looked at the officer chasing me. Even if the officer was fit and trained, a twelve year old girl was out running him, and that girl was me.

The other officers realized that I was the criminal and chased after me. I was tiring out really quickly and my backpack was slowing me down. The only thing I thought about while I was running was my identity and family.

If I was caught here, who knew? I might not ever be heard from my father and I want to be heard from! I don't think he even knows I exist!

.oOo.

Running as fast as I could, I felt the rain dribble down my black tank top. It stuck to my body and became rather heavy in the last hour of rain. My skinny jeans were torn from tumbling through the thorn bushes before. With a cackle, lightning struck a nearby tree, sending me down the hill. Luckily, I stumbled upon Stark Tower. You know, the giant building in New York that was rather attractive and bright and at the same time equally lame. "AVENGERS" was written across it and I came to think it was too bright for any other stars to shine through all this light pollution. Thankfully the lights were bright and it made a perfect compass. It was nighttime at the moment so I ran up the steps to the doorstep. I could hear the police car and the alarms in the distance as I rang the doorbell.

"Please enter your name." A British voice responded. The doorbell disappeared and was replaced with an identity scanner. After scanning my eyes and face, the screen revealed a question mark.

"Uh... Phoenix Stark?" I said suspiciously. Funny, I thought, other than Pepper, there was no other person living in the building.

I heard a camera gear lower down to see my face. I was a twelve-year-old girl. My hair was down to shoulder length and was quite curly, the brown tint on my hair slightly darkened due to the rain. My skin was peach and white and my eyes were grey blue.

"I'm sorry, I am not able to find your identity in SHIELD's database. Please enter a valid name." The voice said again.

"Fine. Phoenix Neptune Stark!" I yelled in frustration. The policemen could catch her any moment now.

"Say it again?"

"Phoenix Neptune STARK!" I exaggerated my last name a bit.

"I'm sorry, the most I can do is inform sir that you are on his doorstep. Would you like me to do that?"

"NO! Just let me in!" I yelled. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder and dragged me into a police car. I writhed and protested with all my strength but policemen had probably bulked up for the occasion. I sent out a piercing scream and the last time I saw the moon was before they put a hot and insulated garbage bag over my dirty hair. .oOo.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: So whatsup guys? Chapter 1 of Run is finally out! Reviews, favs and follows are much appreciated :D**

Chapter 1

Phoenix was handcuffed in a room with nothing but a bottle of water. Her throat was bone dry but she was unable to even open the cap with her hands cuffed to her back. Looking around, she saw her backpack was opened and emptied, showing her favorite and only possessions.

The only things she put in there was a set of clothes, a water bottle, an apple, a diary and a pencil case. The rest were just three sets of clothes. Phoenix also noticed that her pocketknife had disappeared and so was her hair clip.

It was harder to brush her hair back especially when she didn't have any hands. An officer with dozens of badges pinned on his shirt walked up to Phoenix.

"Where am I?" Phoenix demanded.

"New York Jail." He replied simply.

"Why am I here?"

"Mr. Stark should deal with you shortly.

Phoenix growled. If the officer was going to reply like this all the time, she better start thinking of as many questions as she could to keep giving her answers before Mr. Stark arrives.

Writhing her hands around silently, she scanned through a wave of possible questions.

"Who are my parents?" She thought quickly while trying to free herself.

"Aren't you supposed to answer that yourself?"

"Are you going to answer me with more questions?" Phoenix challenged.

The guard stayed silent.

After the eerie of silence, the door opened and a man with brown and neatly combed hair, short but semi curly walked in. He was wearing sunglasses like it was the hottest day on the planet.

"Stark," The officer shook hands with the man.

"Officer, let's see what we have here shall we?" Stark opened his arms to present Phoenix who was kneeling with her hands tied to her back.

"So, begin questioning." Phoenix joked.

"Okay?" Stark started off awkwardly. "What were you doing last night on my doorstep?"

"I was trying to get in." Phoenix replied, giving Stark a cold stare.

He started pacing around Phoenix, clapping his hands with every step he took. "Why?

"The police was after me."

"Because?" Stark lifted his eyebrow and gave Phoenix the questioning look.

"I…" Phoenix hesitated, should she tell him? "I'm… your daughter."

"Ah. That explains that last name of yours, Stark isn't it?"

"Hang on," Phoenix sat back, making herself comfortable. "You aren't surprised.

"I know," Stark looked at my confused face amusingly. "I knew about you."

"You what?" Phoenix stuttered. "How?"

"Aren't you the girl who ran to my cave?" Stark brought his face up to mine and removed his sunglasses.

"Well… that was three years ago!" Phoenix came and faced him. "How on earth did you remember that?

"Genius?" Stark tapped his head. "I can remember a lot of things."

"Like what? How to destroy your virtual butler with a pull of a cord?" Phoenix laughed at her own joke, but Stark didn't.

"What did you say?" Stark turned around. "Did you do something to Jarvis?"

"Who is Jarvis anyway?" Phoenix asked innocently.

"Hello?" Stark waved his hands in front of Phoenix's face like it was so obvious. "My Artificial Intelligence and virtual butler?"

"Oh, I'm guessing he also runs the cameras as well." Phoenix tilted her head, her eyes flared in annoyance.

"Get up, I'm not going to bother with the keys so I'll just cut it." Stark took out a laser and started cutting through her handcuffs.

Phoenix had no choice but to follow him. Grabbing her backpack, she carried her feeble collection of stuff to Stark towers again.

After arriving at Stark towers, Stark picked up his phone and called his CEO, Pepper Potts. After a couple of rings, Stark managed to get Pepper on the phone.

.oOo.

Pepper was waiting for the business meeting to be over. There was still two hours of good stock marketing but Pepper hated it. Being Chief Executive Officer of Stark Industries, she had to take care of all these meetings, no matter how much she doesn't want to.

Every since Tony announced he was shutting down Stark Industries, the military stole his suit. It wasn't very pleasant over those two years. But eventually it became normal.

In her left side pocket, she felt her Blackberry ring violently. Pepper thought she put it on silent. But then again, Tony must have pressed the "EMERGENCY" button.

The board stared at Pepper for about half a minute. Pepper felt her face reddening and she was trying to keep it under control. When she couldn't handle the embarrassment anymore, Pepper left the meeting room and closed the glass door shut.

"What is it Stark." She asked in a monotonous voice.

"Hey Potts," Tony started casually. "Did I ever mention that I might have a daughter?"

"Look, I'm in a middle of a board meeting so don't you try dragging me out of this." Pepper scolded Tony through the phone. But then, a wave of memories and realization hit her mind. Pepper asked again, clearly shocked and bewildered. "Wait, did you say a daughter?

"Yes, a daughter."

Pepper dropped her Blackberry. Tony heard the sound of the plastic cracking and said. "I knew I should have made it out of titanium alloy, but then again, she wouldn't let me touch it."

"Pepper?" Tony asked. He panicked when she didn't reply. "Pepper Virginia Potts! That's it! I'm coming over right now!"

The phone hung up with a click.

Pepper was processing what she had just heard. A daughter? How is that even possible? Recovering from the shock, she picked up the phone to see that Tony had hung up and sent a text message.

I'll be right over in a jiffy. Wait in the lobby.

Pepper groaned but proceeded to the elevator anyway.

.oOo.

Tony Stark walked into the lounge with a dirty and battered looking girl. The girl was about one meter and a half tall and her tank top and shorts were torn and ripped. Her hair was brown and oily and her skin was rubbed with dirt. It was like she hasn't washed in days. Her blue-grey eyes betrayed her tough outer look; it had a hint of darkness and fear.

Pepper looked at the girl, ran over and checked her over. "Is she okay?" Pepper asked worriedly. "Is that your-"?

"Yes, she's my daughter all right. I'm not surprised and neither should you." Tony put his hand on Pepper's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Pepper turned around to face him. The other entire members of the board turned to see Pepper and Tony facing each other.

"Yes, because she is also your daughter."

"How… how is that even possible?" Pepper exclaimed.

"Can I explain on the way?" Phoenix jumped into the conversation.

Pepper and Tony stayed silent.

Tony led the two of them to his white Ferrari; it was a classy one, not new at all. But the windows and steel doors were relatively polished well and new. Luckily there was no press showing up, and that's a good sign for all three of them.

.oOo.

The gentle ocean breeze was gliding through Phoenix's hair while Stark was driving his Ferrari.

"So are you telling me," Pepper started. "That Tony and I will have a baby?"

"Yes." Phoenix nodded in return.

"You're also saying that you're from the future?" she asked again.

"Again, yes."

Pepper was still trying to process the information accessing her brain. It was only half an hour ago when Phoenix had started talking, but fitting twelve years of her life wasn't easy. She paused, and then turned around to face Phoenix.

"I don't know if this is a joke or tri-"

Tony cut in. "It isn't Pepper, I knew all about it."

"You did?" Pepper yelled at Tony unexpectedly, she through her hands up in the air. "Why did you never tell me?"

"Well, it was bound to happen anyway." Tony took off his sunglasses and gave her his trademark smile.

"Oh no," Pepper groans, then asked Tony to pull over the car. The three was talking so much that they didn't even notice they were already at Stark Towers.

After getting out, Pepper storms out of the car and into the building.

"What's with her?" Phoenix asked.

"I don't know," Tony stood beside Pepper and watched her growl in frustration. It was an awkward moment. "Maybe I should just wear my suit in my house." He chuckled at his own joke.

"Why not buy her another custom rabbit?" Phoenix joked. Everyone was bound to remember the press's reactions and articles on the giant, Christmas rabbit in Malibu.

"No, not a good idea." Tony sighed.

"Well then, I won't help you." Phoenix smiled.

Phoenix was still sticky and dirty. "Hey kid," Tony looked at her. Phoenix looked up. "What?"

"Wash up! You smell really bad." Tony pretended to sniff.

Phoenix stared at Tony; she turned her head around and gave him a cold look. "Really? Ah! Fine, but only because I stink!" Then after a second or so, Phoenix left and entered the building.

"That kid is seriously me." Tony thought to himself.

.oOo.

Phoenix sat in the guest room of the tower. After her shower, she was much cleaner and her hair was now curly and back to her original style. She was thinking about Pepper's reaction to her story on how she got here.

11 years ago:

Phoenix was a regular, healthy one-year-old baby. She was sleeping peacefully in her crib in the same room as Stark and Pepper.

The peace was broken when they all heard a loud crash on the balcony. There was a shadow of a man, a rather chubby one actually. The sound woke up Tony, who activated his suit that stood up alive.

The man pressed a red button and he disappeared and turned invisible. Without either the suit or Tony knowing, Phoenix screamed and cried while she was being grabbed. The man was holding baby Phoenix, and Pepper was screaming.

The man vanished with a bright flash.

6 years ago:

Phoenix never remembers that incident years ago, and she never thought about it.

Her foster father has signed Phoenix up into a number of classes when she was young. Even when her family was poor, her foster father had a number of highly trained people. Skills such as kick boxing; martial arts, gymnastics and gun handling came to her naturally. Soon enough at the age of six, she could beat the best martial arts teacher and knock them on their feet.

Phoenix thought she was probably training for nothing. She was never allowed on missions or fight zones, but she trained with punching dummies and her foster fathers baby sitters.

Phoenix thought her foster father loved her, but it turned out she was wrong. The reason why she was there was because her foster father had contact with his future self. It turned out she was sent through the future.

It was this portal that her foster father tricked her into stepping in when she was three. Appearing in the past, nine years before. That was how she had enough time to grow to twelve now. Every year she went back, she grew a year older. She never knew that her foster father was any different.

.oOo.

Phoenix was still thinking about the past when Tony walked into the room. Pepper may be confused right now, but hopefully she will understand soon.

"Hey kid," Tony smirked.

"Stop calling me kid!" Phoenix lightly slapped his face, and then sighed.

"Wait a second," Tony said suddenly.

"What is it?" Phoenix asked while being bored of sitting on her bed.

"I'm going to build a time machine, and Raza's going to get his hands on it?"

"Well, he gets his hands on me too." Phoenix replied curtly.

"Yeah, that too."

Tony started pacing around Phoenix while she was lying in her bed. Then when he found an answer, Tony clapped his hands.

"If you were from the future, how many years ahead?"

"Five and a half."

"So… that means you are born two years from now."

"Yes and…"

"You went back nine years when you were three." Tony spoke again.

"The Ten Rings incident was three years ago, so by seeing the facts here, you were eight when we first met." Tony paused while he still thought.

"Precisely." Phoenix concluded.

"You lived in this period of time for four years?"

"Yes, I still had to live with the Ten Rings." Phoenix ended the thinking.

"That's a shame."

.oOo.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Again, please R&R and follow! I will update more often! **

Chapter 2

"Pepper, why don't you understand?" Tony kept trying to persuade her the next morning.

"I am not listening to anything until I get a DNA test for her!" Pepper threw her hands in the air, trying to refuse the fact that this was true. Tony had already repeated the conversation that Phoenix has told him and she thought it was enough.

"Okay," Tony hesitated, thinking of what to do. The he faced Pepper and smiled sweetly. "Would a nice cup of coffee change your mind?"

"Why would it?" Pepper replied curtly. "All we need to do is draw blood from her and check again in three days!"

"I'm not going to admit I'm the hot mess again you know." Tony raised his eyebrow. "I think you're the one in a hot mess." But Tony took that back when Pepper gave him a radiating glare. "Okay, we'll go for a DNA test." Tony sighed then walked into Phoenix's room.

Phoenix was found lying on the bed, trying out the television in the guest room. She was holding the remote and flipping through the documentaries. When she heard Tony and Pepper arguing, she figured this talk would not go as planned.

"What is it Stark?" Phoenix turned to Tony.

"You can start calling me Dad now." Tony chuckled.

"In your dreams," Phoenix retorted. "So, I have to take a DNA test because I truly don't mind right now." Phoenix opened her backpack and pulled out an empty glass test tube "That, I got from your lab." She smiled.

"Did you get the needle? Tony asked.

"Yes," Phoenix ended the conversation just like that. She stuck the needle inside her arm and blood flowed into the small compartment in the needle. After the test tube was filled half way, Phoenix handed Tony the needle and tube of blood before returning to watching National Geographic.

Tony and Happy Hogan were driving in his white Ferrari again. The tube of blood was stuck inside Tony's pocket. He was holding it tight while they arrived at the front door of the laboratory. The building was white and the windows gleamed in the sunlight, reflecting Tony's face off it.

As Tony stepped into the building, a very official doctor came forward to meet him. His bald head made Tony want to snicker, but held onto it and handed the doctor the tube. "This is my daughter's blood. My blood profiles are here," Tony handed him a folder of papers. "Be done in three days or less."

The doctor looked at him and said. "It is a deal." After that, Tony and the doctor shook hands. Tony wrote his phone number and contact details before leaving.

.oOo.

The clock was ticking to three o'clock in the afternoon. After watching television shows such as Dog Whisperer and Mythbusters, Phoenix became bored and started using the guest desk.

There wasn't a lot of paper in the tower because almost everything used electricity. Jarvis kindly opened up an art program for Phoenix to draw. When she was finished with her art, she sent it to her friend Raven. But then she realized, she doesn't have an e-mail address. Phoenix was still twelve years old and the policy of terms and conditions say explicitly thirteen years old, but she shrugged it off like it was no big deal. Phoenix spent hours learning how to use the computer because she had never touched one in her entire life. Phoenix never went to school and was homeschooled by her foster mother.

When Tony returned home, Pepper came to greet him. He noticed that the smile on Pepper's face was quite fake and forcing. Her blonde hair that was tied to a bun was a little out of shape than usual and her eyes were tired.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Tony asked.

"This is what's wrong." Pepper pointed to Phoenix through the glass door while she was drawing. "Why is she even allowed on the computer?"

"You may think that Phoenix is a stranger, but she is my daughter. By the way, what have you been doing?" He put his shoulder on top of hers and forced her into one of his comfy chairs.

"Watching her," Pepper yawned. "Tony, I've been suspicious ever since yesterday when she arrived."

"So you don't sleep, eat, bathe or do anything else?" Tony eyed her suspiciously.

"I guess," Pepper closed her eyes, and then opened them again. "Hang on a second, aren't you the one who doesn't sleep or do whatever?"

Tony shrugged. "Don't worry about me or Phoenix, were all fine. Jarvis will tell us if she is doing anything inappropriate anyway." Pepper stood up and guided Pepper to the bathroom. "Now, go take a shower while I get this stuff handled with." He said while Pepper gratefully took the opportunity.

.oOo.

Tony sat beside Phoenix's bed at six o'clock in the evening while Pepper was in the shower. The two were talking about their happy memories even though Phoenix didn't have many. Tony also noticed that Phoenix didn't like to show her emotions. She had never been seen crying, laughing loudly or supremely angry and frustrated.

"What are your hobbies?" Tony asked.

"I like reading, drawing, writing and sometimes archery and aiming for targets." She said while playing virtual archery with Jarvis. She drew the virtual arrow steadily and quickly and easily hitting a bull's eye within seconds.

"Wow, you're really good." Tony remarked.

"Yeah," Phoenix sighed, drawing another arrow. "I can't believe I'm living with one of you guys. Where are they anyway?"

"Who?" Tony took a turn playing with the virtual bows. He didn't take much time but his aim was a little off and the arrow hit the light blue circle. "Yeah, I'm not as good as you."

"The Avengers, isn't that what it says across the building?" Phoenix drew another arrow. This time, she split her other arrow in half just by being too accurate.

"Oh please, you haven't even explored the other floors yet!" Tony still missed the bull's eye. "I'll take you to them once we confirm the DNA tests or until Pepper approves you can stay here."

"Fine," Phoenix put down her bow and arrows and turned to Jarvis's microphone. "Moving targets activated." The virtual targets transformed into moving horses, even if the targets were moving faster than cars, Tony still admired Phoenix's accuracy.

Tony walked out of her room to find Pepper still peeking inside the glass door. Her hair clearly was not dried completely and was soaking her sapphire blue nightgown. "Relax Peps, she is normal, just like us."

Pepper gave Tony a worried glance and handed him his phone then walked away to her room. Tony was shocked; Pepper has never acted this way, ever! As Tony glanced down at the message on his phone, he grabbed his coat and headed for the laboratory.

.oOo.

"What is it Doc?" Tony asked sternly as he walked towards to the DNA Physician who was looking into a microscope. He didn't reply but motioned Tony to come over and look.

"Well, she is your daughter all right, and Ms. Potts. However there is one thing I found in her blood that was strange." The doctor explained.

Tony closed one eye and looked through the microscope. Besides the red blood cells and other usual compounds, the doctor was right; inside Phoenix's blood were little neon blue rings. It was unlike any other thing Tony has ever seen.

"Well, thanks for telling us earlier than expected, but please." Tony pleaded and handed the doctor dozens of bills. "I'll tip you if you don't tell anyone about this. Also, send me the file later, I want Ms. Potts to see the results."

"Deal," The doctor said, he took the bills and put them in his right pocket. "Would you like the rest of the blood sample? You're daughter overly prepared." He handed Tony the bottle of blood that Phoenix has given him.

"Sure thing pal," Tony gently slapped him on the back before exiting. "Zip your lips!" He said before entering his car.

Tony climbed into his car and put the tube of blood away. He was quite worried and curious at the moment, but Phoenix must be asleep right now. All Tony could do is wait for tomorrow for answers.

"So this is what you sent me emergency messages for huh?" Tony retorted. "You could at least say something interesting." Then, his mind shifted to Phoenix. "What aren't you telling me?"

.oOo.


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Yeah, 3 chapters in 1 day is pretty tough. But that was because I pre-made these. So right now I'm working on the fourth chapter. It will be a while but now is the summer holiday so I should be fine.**

Chapter 3

Phoenix yawned as she opened the curtains. The daylight poured in and lit up all the shadows. New York was as busy as it can be, but up high in the tower, no sounds could be heard. It was the first peaceful and quiet sleep she's ever had in ages. She remembered Tony's question about preparing. Although, there was hidden secrets inside her blood that she knew about. That was why she prepared, she kind of wanted Tony to find out about her powers.

The second thought that struck Phoenix was the fact that she should start calling Stark either Tony or Dad. But then again, Phoenix never felt like having any parents, so she decided to call them Tony and Pepper. Pepper has been acting like Phoenix was her common enemy ever since she arrived, and Phoenix understood why. Pepper was CEO of Stark Industries, and right now, it was developing and selling something they have never sold before. Pepper was a hard working and very focused woman, who never seemed to rest. But she was easily stressed and tired.

Tony on the other hand, was a playboy who rarely took things seriously. If Pepper wasn't here for a situation to handle, he would crack under pressure, go get drunk and date girls he doesn't know. Phoenix prefers to avoid people like these, but living with one, Tony would have to go through major changes.

"Jarvis, why is the air conditioner off? I'm getting heatstroke here!" Phoenix joked again as she pretended to fan herself.

"Would you like me to notify Mr. Stark?" Jarvis replied.

Phoenix walked over to the virtual remote control and switched on the air conditioner, a gentle breeze swept over the room. "That was a joke Jarvis, I thought Tony programmed you to notice sarcasm, oh well." She shrugged.

The guest closet was empty and Phoenix has run out of clean clothes to wear. Normally in Afghanistan, she would wash her laundry everyday since she only has two sets of clothes. Sighing, Phoenix took the elevator down to the ground floor where she filled a pan with water and a made a hanging rack with some wire lying around. Phoenix picked up her now wet and clean clothes and hung them up in the sunlight, waiting to be picked later this afternoon. But when she was about to leave, Phoenix had sensed some movement.

A black figure caught Phoenix by the shoulder and captured her, unable for her to escape. "Who are you and why are you hanging clothes here?" The figure that turned out to be female demanded. Phoenix didn't struggle, she already knew who she was.

"Black Widow isn't it?" Phoenix said, throwing her over her own shoulder and slamming her into the floor. "Hasn't Tony told anyone that I was living in this tower at all?" Letting the Black Widow up.

"Who are you anyway?" The dark redhead with sapphire blue eyes replied while getting to her feet slowly.

"Phoenix Neptune Stark." Phoenix replied, still keeping her guard up. "Where's Tony anyway?"

"What?" Natasha pretended to be annoyed. "I can't take another Stark. By the way, where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Years of training, in Afghanistan." Phoenix said, walking over to check her drying clothes. "I doubt Tony could even beat me."

"Shouldn't you be calling him Dad?" Black Widow asked, it was a wonder how Tony even had a daughter.

"Not yet, actually, not until five years later when Pepper gives birth to another me." Phoenix replied and when she saw Black Widow's confusion she added. "Wait, I forgot to tell you!" Phoenix slapped her forehead. "I'm from the future!" She exclaimed.

"Like I believe you." Black Widow replied, curling her hair and looking at the ground.

"It's true." A deep voice jumped into the conversation.

Both Phoenix and Black Widow flinched at the sudden surprised, not big, but noticeable. Tony chuckled at their reactions and the two girls loosened a bit.

"You did not tell us there was someone else living in the tower." Black Widow looked at Tony sternly with a raised eyebrow, even if she was tough, her eyes betrayed her concern.

"Well if I told you I wouldn't be able to see you get knocked over by my own daughter!" Tony laughed. No one has ever seen the famous Black Widow turn soft; it must be the first time for everything.

"Fine, fine." The Black Widow shook her short, red and curly hair and reached over to shake Phoenix's hand. Phoenix accepted it like she was an old friend of hers. "I'm Natasha, Natasha Romanova. We really need to take you shopping, how did you live for twelve years with only two sets of clothes?" Natasha exclaimed, sifting through Phoenix's ragged and old shirts and pants.

"Wait a minute," Phoenix paused. "Did you just say Romanova as in R-O-M-A-N-O-V-A?"

"Yes," Natasha turned around to face her with questioning eyes. "Why you ask?"

"Because I met this girl name Raven Romanova in Afghanistan before I escaped, she looks a lot like you. Same red and curly hair but her eyes were emerald green. I think she's somehow related to you." Phoenix explained, a little distant. For some reason, Natasha froze in realization; Raven had called her a week before saying there was someone Natasha should meet.

"Jarvis, search up Raven Romanova in the SHIELD database if you may." Tony demanded the AI.

"Wait!" Natasha yelled at Jarvis. "I'll explain, her database has been erased off SHIELD for safety purposes." To make sure Jarvis understood, she made a stop sign with her hands in front of the camera.

The three of them sat down and kept their voice low, very low in fact. Natasha clearly doesn't want Hawkeye to know. "Raven is Clint and my daughter, a decade or so ago, I have been sent to Afghanistan for a mission involving the Ten Rings. I had her over there and left her they're in a small apartment with a couple of friends of hers. I had to leave because if she becomes a SHIELD agent like me, she may die too soon." As Natasha looked at the shocked face of Phoenix, she hurried the line. "Don't worry, she is safe and protected by SHIELD and she is well trained."

"Well," Tony stood up and smiled. "Why did the party just start?" He said as he pulled out the test tube that Phoenix has given him yesterday. The blood inside was still fresh and bright red even though normal blood is supposed to darken and clot by now.

Phoenix gulped; she didn't want Tony to expose her secret to anyone other than himself! This could be a disaster if Natasha was here!

"Now Phoenix, explain why this blood of yours has little bright rings in it." Tony glared while holding the tube in front of her.

"I'm not saying anything until Black Widow gets out of here." Phoenix snorted and crossed her arms because she wanted to act really stubborn.

Natasha hissed and said something strange, it sounded like mumbling to Phoenix but Tony knew what it was. "Stop speaking in Latin, it's a dead language!" He said.

"It meant something like this. I shared my secrets, now spill the beans." Natasha translated what she said earlier. Giving Phoenix and Tony her famous menacing look.

"Okay," Phoenix put up her hands, pretending to be caught like a prisoner. "But you'll have to make me." She ran off into the city. Natasha ran after her but Tony stayed back. If Phoenix could survive twelve years of terrorism, she could definitely survive a populated city like New York.

Phoenix was running through the streets, the cars slowed down as they saw a child running through the streets. The headlights glared on her like a spotlight on the road. Natasha was a few meters behind her, her eyes wide and flared in anger.

As the road ended and Phoenix's face kissed a brick wall, she was trapped. Around her were two sandbags and a few wooden boxes. Natasha raised her gun and pointed at Phoenix's head. She knew Tony would kill her for murdering his daughter but she had to threaten Phoenix with it.

"You got me." Phoenix said sarcastically, she turned to face Natasha with and her gun.

"Tell me, what are your powers?" Natasha said, focusing on steady arms to aim her gun to Phoenix's forehead.

"Isn't better if I show you?" Phoenix taunted. She focused hard on the sand bags and brought anger to her mind. Anger was the fuel to her power, the main energy that she uses. Bringing out her hand to control it, Phoenix made the sand bag knock Natasha off her feet.

Natasha got up again, but this time with a bruise forming on her cheek. "Telekinesis, is that all you've got?"

"Tony's right, the party just started." Phoenix grinned. She ran towards the wall and jumped off and landed square on Natasha's shoulders. While Natasha struggled to throw Phoenix off, Phoenix used her power to levitate Natasha. It took three meters off the ground for Natasha to notice she was flying. Phoenix dropped Natasha and continued to levitate.

As Natasha got up, she somehow managed to retrieve her pistol and aim it at Phoenix. Without thinking, Natasha pulled the trigger and Phoenix dropped from three meters to the ground.

"Oh my god, Tony is going to kill me!" Natasha gasped, dropping her gun. Phoenix was now on the floor, with a bullet wound in her chest. As Natasha hurried over and picked her up, the wound emitted a small amount of light. Amazingly, blood stopped pouring from the hole and instead it was replaced by Phoenix's natural peach skin. Phoenix was still unconscious, and the bullet was still lodged in her chest.

"This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Natasha said, watching the wound heal itself. Phoenix snapped back in consciousness and opened her eyes. Realizing she was in Natasha's arms, she writhed out and checked out the scar.

"Ya, thanks alot Nat, I've got a bullet in my chest." Phoenix retorted like she was never wounded. Natasha's eyes widened in shock but recovered quickly.

"How did you do that? Your parents were humans!" Natasha exclaimed, forgetting about the gun.

"Same concept as Captain America, human before, mutant after." Phoenix replied. "I was brought from the future, where I was experimented with a new serum. Fortunately, I destroyed it after it was tested on me." She began to use her power to move the sandbag to the original place.

"Does Tony know this?" Natasha asked.

"Yes," Tony's voice made the two of them flinch again. He turned to Phoenix and jumped down from the wall, checking over his daughter. "I heard while she explained it to you." Tony then turned to Natasha. "Why on earth did you shoot her?" He grabbed Natasha by the collar and brought her face up to his.

Natasha had no choice but to wait for Tony to put her down. "She was trying to kill me!" She choked out. Natasha wasn't really struggling, but over the years of being a trained assassin, sounding like you're weak usually tells the opponent that you are, and they'll be easy on you.

"So you try to shoot my daughter!?" Tony yelled at Natasha's face.

"Put her down," Phoenix ordered Tony. "I have healing abilities anyway."

"You have a bullet in your chest." Tony tried to keep calm. This was the first time etime he ever gotten angry over something so small.

"God, calm down." Phoenix said again in a monotonous voice. "I've got like fifty of those anyway."

"You what!?" Tony's eyes widened in shock. After a couple of seconds, he shook his head and finally relaxed. "Never mind, let's return to the tower."

.oOo.

It was dinner and Phoenix was still in the guest room eating away some pizza. She wasn't really surprised when Natasha shot her, after all, she was from the Red Room. The Red Room was an organization where children like Phoenix herself were trained to become assassins. Her foster father tried to send Phoenix to the Red Room but her foster mother refused to let her go.

At first, Phoenix wasn't really fond of Natasha, but after today's fight, she knew why Tony didn't like her either. Natasha was his personal assistant when Pepper was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Stark Industries. Natasha's undercover name was Natalie Rushman and she worked for SHIELD. It wasn't until when Tony was dying did she reveal her true identity. Tony has kept his guard up ever since.

So to last Phoenix's boredom, she started using Jarvis to make a cat suit that was suitable for her. When she was done, Phoenix looked at the finished piece. It was a quick dry, quiet and flexible synthetic cloth. The suit was mainly black with a little black belt to hold the gear in place, and there was no collar and it stuck to her like she wanted it to.

The reason why Phoenix always wanted to design her uniform was because she wanted to go fighting. Not just go to school with all the violent skills and powers she possess. It was kind of unfair her foster father had to keep her in captivity and not in the field.

Phoenix asked Jarvis to hide the suit in a secret compartment before turning off the lights for a good night sleep.

Outside, she could hear Tony and Pepper arguing.

"What!? She is my daughter?" Pepper shrieked.

Tony was more relaxed. "I told you so."

"Then why didn't you protect her?"

"How are you supposed to protect her in the middle of the night!?" Tony yelled at Pepper.

"Your suit?" Phoenix could imagine Pepper rolling her eyes.

"You told me to destroy those ages ago!" Yes, Tony had destroyed his suits, but that was this christmas which was not far from now.

"Can you two hush up?" Phoenix yelled down the hall from her room to the living room. "I'm trying to sleep." She said as she rolled around the guest bed, trying to keep comfortable.

"Sorry!" Pepper yelled back, then continued whispering to Tony.

With the more quiet and peaceful background, Phoenix drifted into a good night sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

**So... I haven't uploaded in ages! i know that, feel free to hit me.**

Chapter 4

It was a week after Phoenix was staying in The Avengers tower, and Steve was beginning to wonder why Natasha, Tony and Pepper have been so quiet lately. Tony didn't even touch any alcohol all week. Bruce prefered to ignore it and wait for the attitude to melt away. Thor kept bugging lady Natasha until he gave up and Clint occasionally asked his partner what was up.

Then, everything went crazy.

It was a new week and Phoenix decided to stretch out her legs and walk into the official Avengers breakfast table on the lower floors of the building. She hasn't been shopping yet, but she fished out her cat suit and decided to wear it while every Avenger stares in awe.

Steve heard light footsteps, he wondered if it was Pepper or Natasha, because they were all lighter than guys of course. "Pepper? Natasha?" He asked.

The two of them exchanged alarmed looks. They both quickly replied when they say the questioning look on Steve's face. "We're over here."

Steve turned around to follow the voices of the two, they were right behind him but the footsteps hadn't stopped yet.

"Phoenix, what are you doing here in a catsuit?" Tony yelled at a really young and cold looking girl.

"I thought I could explore a little." The girl named Phoenix replied.

"And who may this be?" Bruce Banner asked calmly, he was the easiest person to keep calm since he needed to deal with The Other Guy.

"This is my daughter Phoenix Neptune Stark and she is also Peppers as well." Tony awkwardly introduced as Bruce and Steve walked up to her and since Steve was so tall, he had to kneel to shake her hand. The girl accepted the greeting warmly despite her blue cold eyes.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Phoenix. Twelve years old, well trained and first person ever to travel here." Phoenix said with a heart warming smile.

Thor ran over and picked Phoenix up and hugged her. "I have never seen a lady so cute in Asgard!"

"Thor, you're choking me." Phoenix gasped in Thor's arms. Thor realized her face was turning blue and put her gently back on the floor.

"What did she mean by travel?" Clint asked Tony, who seemed to be not enjoying this moment.

Phoenix answered for him. "Traveling through time." All of a sudden, she pulled over to see Clint and what he was doing. Clint was sharpening arrows with Natasha's pocket knife for the next mission. "Dude, what's your real name? Like I know you're the famous incredible never-missing archer." Phoenix rolled her eyes.

"Names Clint Barton," Clint said, shaking her hand and continued to sharpen his arrows. "So... wanna give archery a shot?" He said when he was done seconds later.

"No," Tony tried to hint with clenched teeth. "Not a good idea."

"Sure!" Phoenix changed her mood so quickly, grabbed Clint and climbed the stairs in a flash.

"Now I feel guilty." Pepper murmured, looking down at her feet. "I didn't like her because I thought she wasn't our daughter."

"Nah, it's fine, just go talk to her after dinner." Tony laughed.

"Sure, I'll give it a shot shall I?" Pepper smiled.

"Will that be all Ms. Potts?" Tony said bye to Pepper in their old fashion style, before Pepper was appointed to CEO of Stark Industries.

"That shall be all Mr. Stark."

Pepper left to finish all the paperwork and emails for running Stark Industries again.

.oOo.

The Avengers Tower was solely amazing, it had it's own restaurant, bowling arena, tennis court and loads more. But the one thing Phoenix loved the most was the training gym. Inside were far ranged to short ranged targets for both guns and archery.

"Are you kidding me?!" Clint looked in awe. "How did you do that?"

Phoenix was pulling arrows by the bow and letting them go with pride again. She had shown better skills than she had in the conversation with Tony. "I guess it was just practice?" She shrugged.

"But you're twelve!" Clint felt his jaw drop to the ground. Even this amazement managed to break his streak of coolness.

"So what?" Phoenix hit the bullseye the fiftieth time. "I was supposed to be in the Red Room."

Natasha entered the training gym with bright green and on-fire eyes. The thought of Phoenix and Clint training together made her want to tear herself apart. Natasha wasn't sure if she could trust Phoenix right now, and now, even her partner clearly can't be trusted. Natasha doesn't even know what Clint is telling Phoenix, that was until she heard the phrase "Red Room".

"Did you just say the Red Room?" The assassin asked.

"Yes, my foster father wanted me to join it, but my mom stopped him anyway." Phoenix was still enjoying her session with Clint and competing with the speed and accuracy.

Natasha left the training gym and faced the window. From that moment on, Natasha knew she could trust Phoenix.

.oOo.

Phoenix knew Natasha trusted her after the previous moment. Why? Because Natasha has given Phoenix Raven's contact numbers. Finally, Phoenix could send Raven her picture she had drawn a few days before.

Tony was probably going to yell at Phoenix anytime today about her and the catsuit. It wasn't such a big deal, it was just for fun. The catsuit was also a substitute for her clothes because the fight with Natasha the other day made her forget about them. So Phoenix changed out of the suit and put on some regular clean rags instead.

Pepper was more of the trouble, Phoenix was starting to worry. Pepper was Tony's remote, she kept everything under control, and whatever Pepper says, whatever Tony does. Well, sometimes anyway.

As Phoenix was typing away the last few buttons to send off her artwork, Pepper opened the door to the guest room. Phoenix was getting used to Tony entering her room but Pepper? That was just odd.

"Hi Phoenix," Pepper started awkwardly and sat on her bed.

"Say what you want to say, or do you still want to kick me out because I'm not supposed to be here?" Phoenix didn't meet Pepper's eyes, she felt too cold to do so.

Pepper flinched at the coldness stinging in Phoenix's voice. "I'm so sorry!" Pepper confessed, finally breaking and feeling too guilty to hold it. "I never knew you were my actuall daughter! There are a lot of girls who came to visit us and claimed that they were Tony's daughter!"

Phoenix decided to forgive Pepper, she was afterall her biological mother. She dropped the cold voice and turned to her curiosity. "Huh, really?"

Pepper stopped burying her face into her hands. "Ya, like a few times." She broke a smile.

"That's fine, I forgive you." Phoenix looked into her mothers eyes and took her hand out for a shake.

Pepper was so glad Phoenix forgave her so quickly. She shook and left the room quietly. Her mind was skipping ropes at the happiness she felt and took the elevator to meet Tony downstairs.

Phoenix was left disappointed at herself. She should've never been so soft towards anyone, even her own mother. But sometimes she couldn't help but forgive people that were so cruel to her. Phoenix shook her head, praying that she would not do anything like that again.

.oOo.

Since Phoenix has already met the Avengers, Tony and Pepper agreed she could stop eating pizza in the guest room and join everyone else at the Avengers table. What was really sad was not one Avenger except Tony had a couple living in the tower.

"Guys, you seriously have to get some girlfriends and boyfriends." Phoenix teased while looking at Natasha since she was the only female Avenger.

"Please," Clint retorted. "What do you know about love?" He said with his mouth full of pasta.

Natasha was more silent, she didn't want to think about her relationship with Clint, because she sort of secretly loved him. No one knew that, because before Natasha had told everyone that loved was for children. Or at least, that was what the Red Room has givin her. Natasha tried to change the subject and luckily, she suceeded.

"Tony, I thought I told you to bring her to the mall to buy make-up and clothes."

"What's wrong with living with the stuff I already have?" Phoenix asked, pretending to be offended.

Natasha raised her eyebrow and eyed at Phoenix. The rest of the Avengers looked at her dull beige shirt that has lost the brown color by overwashing, and her blue jeans that were shredded by thorns. Overall, Phoenix looked like a young, scrawny girl that was wearing rags and towels from the garbage can.

Bruce was shocked on how thin she was, to a doctor, Phoenix was nearly as thin as one of those beggars living on the street. Then, he looked at Phoenix's plate of pasta, it was nearly full. If Phoenix was ever going to get used to eating, she needed to start now. So Bruce the doctor forced Phoenix to eat something. After she was halfway through, Phoenix claimed she was full and gave the maid her plate to wash.

Thor was looking at Phoenix, she was so cute and adorable and it made him want to hug her. Asgard was only filled with full grown gods and children are rarely seen these days. He secretly agreed with the Widow that she needed clothes and to his opinion, the scrawny looking girl doesn't look like the Metal Man's daughter.

Steve stayed silent, he had heard from Stark himself that Miss Romanova has been beaten by Stark's own daughter whom of course was bragging. Steve was speechless when Stark told him because from all of whom have tried, the only person ever was this young pre-teen right next to him. He couldn't help but look at how thin and scrawny Phoenix was and agreed that she needed some clothes as well. But Steve didn't want to say it out loud because that girl has a tongue as sleek as silver.

"I know I'm really cute, but it's kind of rude to stare you know." Phoenix said, breaking the silence that was lingering in the air. That sentence alone caused everyone to finish their pasta and look away.

Once their dinner was cleared off the plates, the maids came and cleaned it up while the rest of everyone else tried to push Natasha and Phoenix to go shopping. Natasha kept refusing but even Clint joined the game, so she had no choice but to start up the car.

The assassin and a young child headed off to the giant mall of shopping, where everything was extremely expensive. Natasha pulled over the car to let Phoenix look at the giant building in awe. Phoenix has never seen anything so huge. Back in Afghanistan, the market was just a few people sitting on each side of the street.

"Oh my god." Phoenix mumbled as she got out of the car.

Natasha caught Phoenix's words but said nothing, she was used to this kind of malls anyway.

The two girls walked over to the mat, Phoenix didn't understand how the doors worked yet, there was no handle!

Natasha stood in front of a small black colored device and the doors opened wide. Phoenix followed her inside to see a giant water fountain, it was so beautiful. For some reason, Natasha changed her mood towards her today, smiling as Phoenix went ahead and chose everything that was red and black.

Once the girls were done, they carried the load of clothes and items to the car, it filled up the whole back seats, so Phoenix had no choice but to sit in the front. There was a small explosion at the mall behind them, glass showered and the two girls exchanged looks of concern.


	6. Chapter 5

**Fifth chapter, long enough?**

Chapter 5

_Raza_

Phoenix's knew that mark, the man who was standing in front of her, she knew who he was. She just didn't want to say his name. Natasha was thrown back with a powerful kick from him, and Raza's men crowded around them.

Natasha recovered quickly, glancing around with her eyes; the men would not budge by her kicks or punches. Their armor was too thick; steel was Natasha's weakness, especially when she was unarmed. The only weapons she had now were two pistols hidden in her shorts, but even that wasn't enough to penetrate the armor. But it was better than nothing, so she pulled them out and wasted the bullets.

Phoenix heard the pistols shooting at Raza's men but it's never enough. These men were sent from somewhere else. Perhaps from the future, she clenched her jaw because the portal was never closed. She watched Natasha drop her guns and made a bracing position, then, she heard her say something she never thought Natasha would.

"Use your power!" Natasha yelled at Phoenix. "Now!" These men were crowding around her, and Raza would not give up the evil look in his eyes.

Phoenix didn't need to be asked twice, she brought her hands forward, imagining she was pushing away the men. The force of her power made a path for Natasha and Phoenix to escape.

"I have underestimated your power." Raza murmured. "But I came prepared." He drew out a steel forged sheild, it was large and impossible to penetrate with bare hands. Even Phoenix could not move it out of Raza's grip or smash it with her power. "This, is a suction handle, so powerful, you are not even able to move it. My future self gave it to me, as a gift. You see, he wanted to thank me for handling you, pathetic girl!"

Raza swung his shield towards Phoenix, but she dodged into a soldiers arms. The soldier grabbed her, the armor was too cold and uncomfortable and Phoenix didn't want to writhe until her skin cut the sharp edges. The soldier pushed her forward but cuffed her hands together at the same time so she wouldn't be able to move.

"You are one tough girl, but you let your guard down and this happens." Raza pinched Phoenix's face, then slapped it and turned it around to see Natasha, who was also captured. Her cuts ran with blood from the soldier's sharp horns on their gloves. The slap hurt but Phoenix was able to bear the pain, like she has for the past twelve years. Something pierced her side and Phoenix fell unconscious while being dragged away with Natasha, leaving their car behind.

Natasha was being tortured, mentally and physically as Phoenix was sedated. It broke her shields, right through her heart. Twelve, a twelve year old was a target of such a cold man, not to mention a father. Picking up the pieces of her heart, she put the shields up again and braced herself for the incoming.

Phoenix was being dragged away, her clothes now in rags again and her hair a mess from Raza's playing. Natasha didn't like it, he was from the Ten Rings. She knew she should've brought her weapons, in case of defense, but these men came from the future, somethings she couldn't predict. Natasha can be superstitious, if it made sense that is.

Because of her, the two defenseless girls were being dragged away to Afghanistan.

The journey was tiring, the man in charge made her walk the way, the others rode in cars and she was watched over by iron soldiers. Food and water was never an option, they didn't give her any, and she didn't want it anyway. Even when her throat forbids her to talk, it was screaming and her body was dehydrated. Phoenix didn't look any better. She hadn't woken up even when carried from someones heavy arms. There were cuts on her face and cheeks, perhaps fun from that Raza earlier.

The sun has risen the second time and Natasha was still walking, she wanted to sleep, but Raza forbid it. So she was forced to walk from morning to night then to morning once more. She sighed; nothing was going to change once she sees her daughter's face, if only.

Raza had just woken up, it was noon probably, and he had gotten sleep for his car ride. It was a torture waiting for Natasha and Phoenix to be delivered, so he decided on the second day to be "nice" for once. He ordered the driver to pull over once he had caught up to the two, which was very easy. Then, he grabbed Natasha and Phoenix from the desert where they were now and pushed them into the back seats, holding a gun to their heads the entire time.

The car finally slowed to a stop and the two girls, a redhead and a young girl got off the car and Raza ordered the soldiers to carry them to the prison. The prison was just a normal room, decorated with steel bars that could not be bent with human force alone, but Raza knew Phoenix could do it. So he separated them, Phoenix was put in a special trap where energy would trap her hands and feet. It was very uncomfortable and if you moved too much, the machine would send bolts up your body to relieve it.

Natasha was forced into the cell, banging her head against the wall. She could feel her precious blood trickle down her lips and the pain was agonizing, but she was a spy, she was used to this kind of thing. She clenched her jaw, if only Phoenix could bear the pain right now, her eyes were still closed but winced at every move. This isn't good.

As Phoenix slowly began to wake up, she didn't open her eyes. Her ears caught something alarming, so she decided to listen first. There was a moan from someone so familiar, Natasha, must be her. Phoenix opened her eyes and turned to face Natasha in a small cell, but everything hurt, her neck especially. Natasha was sitting on the floor with her head and back against the wall. She was so quiet, and so pitiful. Natasha lifted her head to look at Phoenix.

"Are you alright?" Natasha asked from her cell.

Phoenix had forgotten that she was locked in a four-limb energy trapper. It was horrible; escaping would make her even weaker. Natasha searched her pockets but her pistols were gone, the only thing left inside was some flint. Phoenix nodded; there have been times even worse than this.

Tony was drinking his most expensive scotch in front of everybody. Drinking, putting it down, blabbering and rumblings continue, then drinking again. This was his routine ever since two days when Jarvis couldn't locate the two girls.

Clint as well has joined Tony in the bar, Pepper sighed, and this was bad. Tony and Clint were both going haywire and had gotten through dozens of scotch and beer bottles. Steve was looking as if he wanted to leave and this was too embarrassing and Bruce kept saying that this was unhealthy for both of them. Getting drunk was Tony's way of bearing immense pain. Clint on the other hand... Not so much. He spent hours shooting targets in the gym, despite the alcohol, he can still hit every bulls eye, but the hits were slow and lazy and some of the arrows slid out. It was a weird sight; his grief of Natasha was still in his mind after days.

Pepper and Bruce tried staying calm, which worked. Bruce had gotten used to this stuff, having to deal with the Hulk and all. Pepper had joined Bruce in meditation, and she has been taking on lessons ever since the stress on keeping the company running was too much.

Bruce sighed; this was getting out of hand. "Jarvis?" He beckoned the AI.

"Yes Dr. Banner?" Jarvis replied.

"Clean this up will ya?" Bruce said, showing the AI Tony and Clint's state right now.

"I'm sorry, but sir has programmed me not to interfere, just to alert others." Jarvis replied, his voice hinting regret. Indeed, Tony was too smart for anyone as significant as Bruce Banner, also known as Big Guy, or Mr. Green to Tony.

"Hey Legolas," Tony slurred on the other side of the living room. He gestured Clint who was chugging down more Scotch and slapped him in the back. "I think it's enough waiting, let's start looking for them. I mean like, were the Avengers right? What are we doing here on the floor?" He chuckled and slurred, picking himself up and walking over to Jarvis's mainframe. The holographic screen scrolled up and Jarvis was instantly showing him possible areas where Natasha and Phoenix could be located. Clint walked over unsteadily and read off the list of places.

"Afghanistan," Tony mumbled to himself.

"What?" Clint asked.

"They are probably in Afghanistan, I forgot that connection about Phoenix and Raza." Tony realized suddenly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Clint whacked Tony on the back of the head. "We could've been searching yesterday!"

Tony was taken aback from Clint's words, he never knew Tony was traumatized from that event. Tony shook his head in order for those terrifying flashbacks to go away. Clint was staring at Tony who was shaking his head. "Are you alright?"

"What?" Tony asked as he snapped back into the present and stopped shaking. "Oh, nothing, I'm fine."

"Whatever," Bruce said and Pepper rolled her eyes. "Get on with it then!"

Tony was taken aback from Bruce's harsh words but quickly resumed to analyzing and typing. Clint on the other hand, was looking at his arrow tips and sharpening them for a better aim later. Tony hacked into the security mainframe in the Afghanistan military. "Nothing." Then, he moved on to the Ten Rings, which was much easier since the cameras were unguarded by any firewalls and security.

Tony watched as the camera screens loaded and showed a picture of Phoenix and Natasha trapped in a room. "We've got a hit!"


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm writing chapter 7 at the moment, just wait or something. Please R&R!**

Phoenix tried to count her fingers, but they were still locked in the trap that she had to ask Natasha to do it for her. _Three days, three days and look what it did to us._ Phoenix's and Natasha's hair were all oily and full of dirt and grit. Both of them were dehydrated and hungry and tired. Just when all hope was lost...

The steel door blast open and Clint rolled over, suspecting company. Luckily no one came and Clint pressed the button the held all the cells and traps together. Phoenix dropped down with her hair hanging over her face and stayed on the floor. Natasha looked much better, it seemed like she has experience like this a lot.

"Clint, where's Tony?" Phoenix said in a scratchy voice, trying to get up. She finally managed to get on her feet but had to lean against the wall to keep up. Natasha rushed over to help her up.

Clint put the bow back over his back. "Tony was up for some Ten Ring BBQ, wanna join?"

Natasha gave Clint the eyebrow. "Can't you see she's suffering?" She walked over to the table to pick up her knives. "You okay?" She asked in concern.

_Do I look okay?_ Phoenix thought. Her face was covered in blood and dirt, her eyes sting because of the grit. "Can I just have some food and water?" She croaked.

Clint looked like he was thinking. "I guess you can drink out of my water bottle." He pulled out a half filled water bottle in front of Phoenix. "You want it, huh?" He waved in right in front of her face. Phoenix just stood their and stared sleepily at Clint. "Alright, I guess you haven't slept, washed, ate or drank in three days."

Phoenix drank down the water gratefully and her voice returned to normal. "Can we just go home now?"

"Alright, Tash," That name earned Clint a slap in the face.

"I thought I told you on various missions not to call me that!" Natasha half yelled at Clint, who was rubbing his face where she slapped him.

"Anyway, _Natasha,_" Clint corrected himself. "Bring Phoenix to the helicopter and head back to the Tower. I'll go kick some Ten Ring butt." He said awesomely, then ran out the window and shot some lightning fast arrows.

Natasha lifted Phoenix up who was wiping excess water off her chin. "C'mon, let's go."

Phoenix took a bath and started treating her cuts and bruises. She wrapped her wounds and went to bed, forgetting about dinner. She writhed and turned, trying to get comfortable. After ten minutes, she heard some one at her door, knocking.

"Phoenix!" Pepper's voice called through the door. "Dinner is ready."

Phoenix didn't want to wake up, she pushed her head further into the pillow hopefully to block out the sound. She groaned in response hoping Pepper would leave her alone.

"You okay in there?" Pepper's voice still wandered. "By the way, you new room is waiting for you!"

Phoenix willed for the door to unlock, the lock opened with a click and Pepper stepped in. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied into a bun and she was ready for some midnight work. She switched on the lights and Phoenix winced since she was used to the dark for a while. Her pupils went from big to small and she got used to the light again. Pepper sat on the side waiting for her to get up.

Phoenix got up and walked out of the room without saying anything to Pepper. Her eyesight was still hazy and she was still sleepy and tired, she dragged her feet all the way down the halls until she reached the dining room.

"Yo!" Clint waved, his face had a few shrapnel scratches but apart from that he had nothing else. Around him was Pepper, Tony, Steve and Bruce. Natasha was missing from the table, Phoenix was a little worried.

"Hi," Phoenix drowsily waved and dragged herself to a chair next to him. The table was set with delicious looking courses, the scent was good and Phoenix's stomach rumbled. She totally forgot how hungry she was, she hasn't eaten anything for three days. She lightened up and banged the utensils on the table. "Let's eat!"

"Where's Natasha?" Clint finally asked, finishing his previous sentence. He tried to look cheerful although Phoenix was sure he was concerned as well.

Pepper calmly replied. "I'm sure she is resting, maybe she's not hungry."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "But Natasha always wolfs down her food when she's back from missions!" He protested.

"Can we eat yet!?" Phoenix yelled at everyone and was banging his utensils harder on the table.

"Calm down," Bruce said, green tint on his skin was starting to show and Tony didn't participate. He had just seen Natasha earlier, she was just tired and needed rest. Bruce continued and turned to Phoenix, who was really impatient, he smiled. "Sure, let's eat!"

Phoenix took no time to chew as she swallowed down her whole platter, ending with a slight burp. "Excuse me!" she chuckled.

Natasha appeared at the entrance with sleepy and droopy eyes, surprisingly she was wet all over, her hair, skin and clothes were soaked. "Who turned on the sprinkler!?" She glared at Clint.

Clint put his hands up and made an innocent puppy eyes. "Not me!"

Tony had a smirk, then chuckle, and after a few seconds he was rolling on the floor laughing!

Natasha brushed over her wet and dripping hair. "What now."

Tony finally stopped laughing, but he couldn't resist showing laughter through his voice. "I did!" He laughed while pointing at Natasha. "You were sleeping so soundly I had to pull a prank!"

Phoenix used her powers to make a wine bottle hover, she added pressure to it. The bottle started cracking and Phoenix directed the purple liquid to hover above Tony. She let go and the wine splashed all over Tony's well brushed and beautiful hair.

Natasha made a smirk, then giggled. "You should use that as your clone now, it's stinky and disgusting!" she joked.

Tony continued laughing. "Yeah, I should!" Then he headed over to his floor for a shower, the second time that day.

Jarvis popped in. "Ms. Stark, you have an incoming call. Should I patch it through?" A picture of a dark skin man, bald and wearing an eye patch appeared on the holographic screen.

Natasha froze, so did Clint. "Yes, patch it through." she said.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow in suspicion when she saw the contact name. "Who's Eye Patch Guy?"

A deep and commanding voice replied in return. "I am, I wish to talk to you Ms. Stark."

"What do you mean!? Leave this place and become a comrade of yours?" Phoenix yelled at Director Fury, or more like, Eye Patch. When this conversation started, everyone had left the room but Phoenix was sure Tony was watching from some camera or something.

"You are in danger while staying there, on the hellicarrier, it is better if you become one of our agents. Your powers and abilities are quite astounding." Eye Patch continued.

"What if I refuse?" Phoenix couldn't possible think she would do anything like that. She crossed her arm and turned around.

"Then I'll start harassing you until you accept." He said directly.

"I won't care until you harm my friends and family, if it's just me, go ahead." She snorted, it's not like SHIELD can do anything without the Avengers. She closed the call, feeling frustrated.

The rest of the Avengers and Pepper turned out to be just leaning against the door, which to Phoenix was really unfair. Clint looked frozen and cold. "Did you just challenge Director Fury!?" he yelled.

"One," Phoenix pointed at everyone, just to make things clear. "His name is Eye Patch." She held up the index finger next. "Two, I'm tired and I want to go to sleep." She finally put her hand down and sighed.

Pepper, Bruce, Clint, Tony and Steve looked petrified. Of course, Nick had all the power in the world, but when it comes to Phoenix, he was nothing. Even Tony, who had just taken a shower, looked dry and his pupils were small and tiny. They slowly cleared the way for Phoenix to walk down the hall behind them.

Phoenix walked down the hall feeling drained, the conversation had cleared all her strength she had mustered from before. She took the elevator to her room, everything there was moved already. She looked at the ruby necklace, cracked and scratched. It lost all the shine that it used to have.

_Eye Patch, no, Nick Fury._ Phoenix clenched her jaw. _What do you want from me?_


End file.
